Secret
by Emotional-Hikari
Summary: Have you ever stumbled upon a secret? The kind that you would never expect? I have - and I would never predict that it would lead me to the life I live right now..."
1. Chapter 1

Okay no – this isn't an update, it's an actual new story! Gasp! Like I need more projects to add to my crap pile. Anyways – trying something new and experimenting with first person point of view – my devil weakness and that thing I can't do shit with… I'm not gonna say who's speaking, since it will be very obvious right off the bat. Enjoy.

**Warnings: **At the present time – none.

**--- Chapter One ---**

You know when you stumble upon a secret – the kind that you would never expect to be true – something that seemed so unnatural or contradictory to what you thought was real, it really is as shocking as it's so suppose to be.

It would be our final year – and by "our" I mean, me and Fred of course; we hadn't plan to stick around for long – least not with that cow, Umbridge, running the scene since Dumbledore took off. So we planned our greatest, most splendid escape yet – well, we were still planning; in the Gryffindor common room late in the night, when our dear little Ronnie-kins snuck in from outside. Believe me, it surprised us both since we thought he was already sleeping or probably staying up with Harry to plot another DA meeting. I admit, it was rather amusing seeing him jump out of his skin when we spoke to him; his face was flushed, but we passed it off as an after affect from being out in the cold, or the fact we caught him sneaking in and out past curfew hours. He never did tell us where he came in from that night, and I suppose we would've gotten the answer eventually if we had teased and poked at him enough the next day, but – Fred and I were pre-occupied. We wanted to give Umbridge a day to remember, so before our grand escape, we decided to give a little – _"demonstration_" of our Weasleys' Wild-Fire Whiz-Bangs, just to stir things up a bit. Needless to say – it went off with a bang, and that toad was running around the school trying to fix it; we have no doubt our professors knew it was us, but they seemed more than happy to let Umbridge handle the "damage".

However, that's beside the point – I mentioned secrets somewhere, haven't I? I don't think it was something either Fred or myself would ever expect. Our curiosity returned the same night later, upon overhearing our dear little brother asking to borrow Harry's cloak; we knew by now what he was talking about and Harry seemed curious as to why just as much as we were. Ron seemed to have noticed us eavesdropping, since he suddenly dropped the subject and shrugged it off. Fred and I glanced at each other with a raised brow and a devious smirk – I should know, we mirror our expressions almost exactly; we made it a silent promise to find out what he was up to lately – we were always in need of new material to tease him with. We camped outside in the hallways, knowing every nook and passage by heart; there was no way he'd dare sneak past us in the common room, so this was our best bet – and it worked. He walked by without even a care, and after a brief celebrate, we followed him; it was half surprising to see him head down to the one-eye witch statue – you know, the one that leads right into the cellar of Honeydukes? We showed Harry that when we gave him the map two years ago, but of course he'd tell Ron how to get out – they are best mates after all, nothing is secret between them. We waited a bit before following after him, speculating, joking at what our brother could be doing at night, sneaking into Hogsmeade – we joked that he was probably sitting in The Three Broomsticks just to stare at Madam Rosmerta and we laughed at the thought. That was our image, our ideal – our awkward, innocent little brother… I had no idea just how wrong we were at the time. When we had finally snuck out of Honeydukes I thought we had lost him for a second, before Fred pointed around the corner – he wasn't heading to Broomsticks. It should've set a warning to us, but we shrugged it off, still appealed by the image we always built him to be and continued ahead with our plan to expose whatever secret he was keeping. We came to a place we've only ever joked about entering, never imagining we would be standing in front of it; I had to pinch Fred.

"You sure you saw him come this way?" The slight glower on his face showed he didn't appreciate my doubt – not that I blame him, I'd have done the same if he doubted me on something.

"Positive, George. I saw him turn this corner, there's nowhere else he could go." Still, even I could see he was beginning to doubt himself; being the supportive twin, I sighed and shrugged it off, moving my feet forward as I gestured onward. Fred didn't look surprised, but huffed at my back before catching up to my side as we trekked carefully to the building; it was probably the only shadiest place in all of Hogsmeade and tucked away so neatly in the corner, it's near impossible to see without turning that corner. We each put a hand to the door, giving the other one last assuring glance, silently telling the other – "we're not going to find him in here" – and pushed onwards. The lights were dim, a smoke hovering in the air made my eyes water almost instantly, I reaching a hand to rub my eyes at the irritation. We obviously looked out of place within this heavy smoked, drunken atmosphere, quickly ducking away from the entrance before anyone could see us; I felt Fred tug at my sleeve and out of habit, I reached for his hand. Call it what you will, but it's our safety – even we get scare too, you know; we just don't show it publicly since we do have an image to maintain. We settled into a corner of the room, trying to keep to ourselves as our eyes scanned the small crowds in the dim light, seeing more and more as we adjusted. It was only too easy to spot our brother – our red hair is a dead give-away sometimes – and I'm sure I was staring. A look I know shouldn't belong on his face was there and for the first time in my life, I was shocked – over my little brother of all people; his face was just full of confidence and pride, reaching a hand skillfully as he curled his fingers around wavy dark blond locks, leaning over to whisper something in her ear. I could see the two other girls with him lean in closer, trying to hear what he could be saying; the dark blond grinned at him, cocking her head to the side, reaching out a hand for his cheek, staring at his face as if she were counting the freckles – which, the hell I don't know if it was possible in this low light. The woman with raven hair abruptly reached her arm around his shoulder, turning him to face her and just out of nowhere kissed him on the mouth.

I know it shouldn't have been as earth shattering as it was at that moment, and to say I was shocked would've been an understatement. I suppose I was half expecting him to pull away blushing, maybe revealing a little bit of his innocence… seeing his arm reach with such easiness, his response and alertness to her body. I felt a tug at my sleeve, jolting me out from my troubled daze, facing Fred next to me; he looked just as surprised as I was. We inched closer without trying to be seen, trying to figure out if this was really happening with _our little_ brother. We were able to get close enough with a table just behind them, merging with the shadow as much as possible in hopes our red hair wouldn't tip him off. I have to say – I've never thought I'd hear him talk like that.

"Hard to believe you're only fifteen sometimes."

"I know – you're a good laid, Red. Not even the men I've been with who've had like twenty years of experience ever satisfied me _that_ well."

"No, I have no such experience at all – I just do what feels right." I had to bite my lip at that, noticing from the corner of my eye Fred biting at his knuckle – that's not our brother, it couldn't have been.

"Is your little girlfriend not satisfying you enough?" Our ears perked at the question – girlfriend? Far as we knew he didn't have one, not unless he and Hermione have finally worked the kinks out and dating secretly. But what he responded with made it clear that was not the case.

"What girlfriend?"

"That frizzled hair girl you always hang around with; she's not your girlfriend?" Fred and I took a quick glance at each other – this is the moment of truth; it's only more than obvious there's a flick between them, and our brother's just proven he's not as dense as we thought.

"Ah, she's not my girlfriend. She's just a good friend of mine."

"Just a _'good_" friend? Sounds like you're friends with 'benefits' – you sure you're not just dissatisfied with her?"

"Why would I want to fuck with her when I could be in the company of three sirens right here?" Did I say we were shocked before – now I don't even know what to call what we are; Fred and I stared face to face, and I couldn't even read the expression he had. Where had _this_ Ron come from – he doesn't act any differently at school, with Harry or with Malfoy going out on a stretch here.

"You are such a naughty boy!" One of the women teased, smacking him on the shoulder with a flirtatious movement; I could see him shrug from the corner of my eye, before he gaze wondered elsewhere, and I knew we were busted. He disengaged himself from the group, quietly excusing himself as they whined softly and pouted.

"I'll be back shortly – just have some… business I want to talk about with a certain two nosy-bodies." Fred and I both tensed at the excuse, quickly getting up from our seats and headed to the door; I thought we would be quick enough to get away and just lie that we dreamed the whole thing up. The cold air had never felt more welcoming in all my life; I wasn't too worried about getting a cold, and I could tell Fred didn't either – we just had to get away from the scene. Our brother was innocent, he is awkward, an idiot and thick – that's our brother… and fate really hates us.

"You never learn to stay out of peoples' business!" I froze, hearing Fred stop a second after me; I didn't dare turn to face my brother, hearing the soles of his shoes scrapping across the stone ground as he stepped in front of us. The face he gave us was apathetic, emotionless – but there no trace of the Ron we were used to, the ickle Ronnie-kins.

"Honestly, keep your noses out of other people's private affairs; you'll do yourselves a favour someday." I was the first one to find my voice, and I couldn't help the sudden anger that rose in my chest.

"What the hell is that? Just what do you think you're doing?" He wasn't going to answer me, he never usual answers us even if we ask a serious question (not that anyone can tell when we're being serious); his face was blank and I was sure I was going to get the same old silent treatment – then he smirked at me, cocky, arrogant. I swear I would've smacked that look off his face if it hadn't caught me off guard – he's been watching Malfoy too much.

"I think you can figure that out yourself, George."

"Yeah, I can figure it out – but what the bloody hell do you think you're doing? Since when did you start…" I couldn't even finish the question, and as irrelevant as this seemed, how the hell did he even distinguish us just now? Usually it's a hesitation and that's when we jump the wrench in, but he didn't even hesitate to call me out.

"Actually, I have you two to thank," that couldn't have been right; how was this _our_ fault! It's not like we told him to go off and fool around with random women. He seemed to have noticed our confusion, shrugging his shoulders as he placed his hands into his pockets.

"You two were always teasing me, treating me like a little brat all the time; so I got tired of it and decided to see just what being "grown up" would be like." I knew Ron was always sensitive, but I didn't think we teased him to _that_ extremity. We had teased him like any older sibling would, we thought he took it in good humor (well, mostly good humor) and just shrugged it off as just another thing we always did to him. I looked over to Fred, seeing he was just as surprised as I was to hear that. He seemed to revel in our shock, hearing a low chuckle escape from his chest; we turned our eyes back to him, the smirk on his face looked even more cocky.

"You know, of all the people I expected to find out, you two are far down the list." That was my final line – I'm not sure about Fred, but I'm fairly certain – no, I'm confident it was the same.

"If mum finds out about this, you –" Fred began, but Ron cut him off, pushing past us to head back inside, giving us both a pat on the shoulder as he casted a grin over his shoulder.

"Go ahead, tell – who's going to believe you?" he stopped to turn and face us briefly, giving us a face I knew shouldn't have belonged there – it was confident, too confident, and predatorily.

"Who's going to believe that "_ickle Ronnie-kins_" is a sex-addict."

**-8-**

That's what he said – he was addicted to sex, to ecstasy, to physical pleasure; I'm still amazed we pulled off our grand escape as smoothly as we did, knowing that our little brother isn't the brother we thought he was. Even now, I still don't know if what he said about our teasings being the underlining fault for this addiction is true or just a bait, trying to see if we'll crack. What really gets me (and I know Fred feels the same) is how he can act just the same as the old image we had and not miss a beat; the Ron we saw that night never appeared once around Harry, around Hermione – around anyone he knew – even us.

It's bloody irritating, knowing that someone is not what they appear to be, only to have them showing off and being a bloody splendid actor, making you doubt if what you saw was real. And I've never realised it before – but Ron is a fucking, bloody good actor. He came to visit our shop, just like the rest of the family did, so of course we had to act our part and tease him about the price of our merchandise; didn't even bat a lash giving us his usual exasperated sigh and walked out. By the end of the day, I can tell you – it's frustrating; Fred's been going off on tangents lately about it and I swear, he and me both are almost tempted to apparate over to Hogsmeade and stalk that place just to re-confirm if what we saw was true. We never did go in the end, lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling – I think I speak for both of us when I say we're afraid; we're afraid that it _was_ true. That our little – could we even call him that anymore – brother was spending every so night or the other, fucking around with random women. It was a little unnerving as the year dragged on, the war front escalating, but like we were going to let that get us down; we kept up our good humor, in perfect form as always, and continued business as always. Throwing in a bit of a boast here, but our shop did extremely well (not that there was ever a doubt in our mind), so even war wasn't about to stop us… bad as this sounds, even Dumbledore's death hadn't dampened our spirits. We may not have known a whole about him, but there's one thing we'd definitely keep – and that's the energy of moving forward with a positive attitude. Besides – Bill's wedding to Fleur would be coming up and given that she was part veela, no doubt opened some enticing and interesting options to us. I won't admit it out loud, but Fred and I did practice some French in secret to impress the guests Fleur had brought along with her family.

Though, surprising to say, we were pleasant to see Ron acting rather possessive with Hermione, and I have to admit, it seemed like he had toned down his addiction to sex. We got in a little one on two with Harry, finding he hadn't been sneaking out as much as he used to the year before; not sure why, but that sudden relief of knowing he was turning back to his old self was oddly welcomed. We held our part in the war, even featuring in the wireless with Lee for a bit – in secret of course. Like hell we're going to let our brother have all the fun sneaking around You-Know-Who's back while trying to figure out a way to destroy him. Fred and I used to laugh all the time at the thought of his face when we spoke on the wireless, knowing somehow, someway he'd be listening, Harry and Hermione tuning in all the way.

Course… did I really once say he was going back to the old Ron? Perhaps it could've been – it wouldn't be the mess it is now when… the most unexpected thing that could ever happen, happened. Our family was cut one short. I still freeze every time I think about it – the pain, the numbing, and just suddenly feeling… empty. The face that always reflected back what I had was no longer doing that; I couldn't see my eyes reflect back at me through his, I could no longer hear my words ringing from his mouth. And I suddenly just realised just how empty and alone my world really was. It was a hard blow for all of us in the family, and I'm still wondering how we're coping, knowing that we're one short – that we'll always been one short. Did I really once say Ron was getting over his addiction?

"How could you do this me?!" If she hadn't yelled, the smack from the across the room then got everyone's attention. The whole room had fell into silence watching them; Ron hadn't even bothered to turn his face back to face Hermione – I don't think he could stand to see the tears in her eyes.

"How could stab me in the back like that? You _cheated_ on me, Ron!" I could see she was livid – we all could see it. After Fred was killed, I saw him fall straight back into his addiction, only this time it seemed like he wasn't even bothering to act anymore, letting this face that had been hiding show for the first time since that night we stumbled upon him. He finally turned to face Hermione, not looking at all pleased.

"How could I have cheated on you when we were never together in the first place!" That did it – we could all see the shock on her face; to be quite honest, I'm sure we were all shocked as well. He didn't stay to hear the rest of the family's opinion, turning away with a _crack_, leaving her standing there, shaking, forcing back tears. Mum slowly came up to her, tenderly putting her hands on Hermione's shoulders; she didn't even look up, burying her face in her hands as she vocalized her pain. The rest of us sort of trickled out from there, leaving mum to try and comfort her alone; after that – I doubt anyone's spoken to him on a daily basis… except me. It's not as if they don't try – mum's tried plenty of times and still hasn't given up – he just doesn't respond in return. Even me, who practically sees him on a day to day basis, rarely ever elicits a reply. Ah speaking of which – I suppose I should go check on him today; I wonder who I will be seeing today, he has an uncanny taste for girls with darker hair, and quite frankly it drives me up the wall knowing the subconscious choices. I can't believe I do this almost every day, and I usually am the one who chases them out of his flat – today would be no different. There'd be a woman there again, I chase her out, lecture him time and again, only to be blown off and end up making breakfast again – the routine is so repetitive, it's becoming second nature and that's scaring me.

**-Chapter One-**


	2. Chapter 2

Second chapter – I admit, I have more, but was a bit hesitant to upload anymore since the concept is something rather unusual. Plus, I wasn't sure if I'd ever get back to writing since it's been nearly two years that I've written anything beyond short prose. Since I seem to be writing more lately, I'm going to assume I'll be updating more frequently in the future – no promises.

**Warning:** Eventual male x male sexual content; hate? Then shut up and don't read.

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"Oy! I know you're there Ron! And I know there's someone else here too!" I hate this; every time I come to this hellhole. I know he's in there and I know there's a woman with him, but you'd think he'd at _least_ have the decency to open the fucking bloody door. I pounded at the smooth surface a few more times before giving up, immediately reaching for my wand in my robe pocket; trust me, this is a good day. A bad day, I would've knocked the door down with brute force. After jinxing the lock I pushed it open with too much force, slamming it against the wall, but I didn't care – intimidation was a good way to get the girl out faster. And she was the first one to saunter out of the bedroom, only just barely dressed as she ran a slender hand through tussled _dark_ brown hair; least her eyes was a light hazel blue. She brushed her bangs to one side, leaving a small part hanging over half her face as she took notice of my presence. I simply crossed my arms, giving her a glare that had become so easy to do recently thanks to this daily routine. She clicked her tongue playfully at me and was about to open her mouth, but I was not in the mood to listen to whatever bullshit.

"You've got ten seconds to get your slutty arse out of this flat." I gritted out, curling my fingers tightly; it was only too easy to curse her, to jinx her (I'm sure Ginny wouldn't mind me using one of her best ones), not just to make sure she never came back, but to spread word of horror about the over-bearing brother of the man she had fucked with. She was taken back by my words, tilting her nose slightly upward as if she was looking down at me. I made a motion towards my wand and she seemed to get the hint, fixing up her dress before fast-walking past me and towards the door, slamming it with less force than I had opened it. I sighed and shook my head, before glancing towards the open bedroom door; a growl escaped my throat before I could stop it, marching towards the room with wide strides, forcing it open the rest of the way. The sight was probably the most decent I've ever seen him; he was sitting in a chair by the window, gazing out blankly through the sheer white curtains, chin resting in the palm of his hand.

A soft sigh past through my lips before I even realised it – seeing him like this almost made me feel sorry for him … almost. I marched over to the chair, crossing my arms over my chest as I tapped my finger, glaring down at him. He ignored me, not glancing away from the window as the sun glared brightly against his freckled face; enough was enough. I reached out for his shoulder roughly, finally making my presence known to him.

"Good morning to you too, Ronald Weasley!" He only glanced up at me from the corner of his eyes before staring back out the window and I had to grind my teeth not to lash out at him. I released his shoulder, leaning my shoulder against the wall as I stared blankly at him. I hate this part of the visit.

"… What's her name?" He merely shrugged.

"Dunno."

"Is she coming back later?"

"No, she lacks focus and attention; she doesn't care for the pleasure, just the boast of fucking around." I had to scoff, smacking the back of his head – those were the details I could live without. He didn't even reaction to the blow, only letting out a breathy sigh.

"When are you going to wake up and stop demeaning yourself like this? You obviously still love Hermione." That now earned me an instant reaction; he stood up to his feet so quickly I was surprised he didn't make himself dizzy, storming out of the bedroom. I only watched him, relaxing my arms before following after him; perhaps I really _am_ the only one who can take care of him – no one else would be able to tolerate him otherwise. I found him sitting on the couch, slouched forward in his seat and simply staring off into space; his face was emotionless, clean – and it's bloody irritating. Letting out probably my twentieth sigh I headed for the small kitchen off to the side, pulling out my wand to start a simple breakfast. Don't get any ideas – I only know the basic house charms, you know – just enough to get by without causing a disaster. Though compared to dragging him to the table to eat, performing house charms was like shooting at elephants; having finally sat him down, I sit across to start my own meal, roughly cutting into my hot cakes probably harder then I should've, but I didn't care. The sooner I could finish, the faster I was out of here; I still had the shop to open up and that required a lot of preparation beforehand. Yes, I still kept the shop – it's not easy running it without my brother, but… I guess I couldn't really part with it either. It was my nightmare and my haven and sadly – I couldn't run away from either. I blinked, suddenly noticing he's not eating and that irritated me.

"Oy – eat your food, now! I went through all that bloody trouble of making it, so you better damn well eat it!" His eyes flickered to me for a moment before he hesitantly picked up a knife and fork and began cutting up his hot cakes. I huffed in approval – bloody, since when did I have such a stick up my arse; I suppose after the war, it's been hard being cheery all the time, never taking things seriously – and as it stands, Ron's practically a bloody energy drainer. I hate this time – the silence is what always gets me, even though at home is no different, but there I know I am alone; being with my younger brother, but having no conversation was enough to drive me up the wall.

"How many more are you going to force yourself on to? It's not doing you any good – if anything it's just making you more miserable."

"Like you're one to talk – when's the last time you had a date? When did you invent something new or told a joke?" I felt my throat tighten up, feeling my lips purse in response; so we were all taking hard blows – mum breaks out crying just passing by our old room, dad's almost afraid to say his name, trying to stay strong but I can tell you – he cried just as hard as the rest of us that night. I tried to move the subject – so we're not all doing so hot, but we're coping better.

"Least I'm not causing harm to myself and forcing my body to get through the day. I swear, you're the only one in this family who's causing themselves harm! I mean, look at Percy – he was there with you guys, and he's doing fine!" Relatively – he's been kind of off focused lately and he seems to be getting paler that he's almost a ghost. But – at least he's not hurting himself in any way. I jolted in surprise at the soft chuckle that escaped Ron, almost terrified by the slight grin that appeared on his face – it was in pain, yet almost cynical.

"You really think he's doing all right? You're bloody blind and stupid." I glared at him for that remark; I hate how he had learned to acquire information before I did. That was something Fre—my brother and I did to him when we were younger; role-reversals were never a happy highlight to me.

"He's not hurting himself like you are, at least." I challenged, but it only made him laugh more, putting his knife down on the table to reach a hand over his eyes.

"He's only letting you _think_ that – of course he's not going to show any _visible_ signs of damage to himself. He doesn't want to worry mum more than she is." I don't like that tone of voice; he's implying as if _every_thing is wrong while everyone else is acting as if nothing is. It's… frightening, I hate to admit, having that ominous feeling and the worst part is – I have no witty or satirical comeback to that. Silence is suddenly a welcoming feeling, continuing with quietly and quickly finishing my plate; I really can't stay here any longer. That grin on his face isn't changing and I can tell he's taking enjoyment at my uneasiness; if I hadn't sworn to myself that I'd never cause physical or magical harm to my brother over a year ago, I'd knock that expression off his face. But – annoyingly so – I'm trying to _help_ him, not damage him further; once my plate is cleared, I clean it, give him one more nag and I'm gone, leaving the fastest way I know how.

Landing back in the shop minutes later, I'm suddenly struck by the emptiness of the area, feeling my thoughts gnawing at me from the inside. What had he mean about what he said about Perce? He's not that stupid he'd actually hurt himself without us knowing – is he? Ah, no – I'm being dumb about this; this is Percy I'm talking about – he's not stupid or desperate like that. Shaking those thoughts aside – I have a business to run right now, and the shop assistant should be coming over soon. A sigh passes through my lips again, and I know it's not going to be the last one; all right, so maybe I am somewhat dragging myself through the days, but hey – you lose half your soul and see how you get through the rest of your life knowing you'll be incomplete.

The front doors' handle are rattling – my assistant is here; good timing as always. He's a good kid – course I probably shouldn't call him that, since he's only a year or two younger than me. Though, it is bloody fun calling him that, he always gets mad at me for calling him a kid – okay, so maybe a small part of me is still able to enjoy life and throw around a good tease once in a while. Besides, he's just asking for it – he doesn't even look like his age; even the customers have a hard time believing it – which makes it more fun to tease him about it.

"This is unusual – you're smiling for once."

"Morning to you too, Ashley. You're on time for once." Nah, I'm teasing – he's always on time, but its fun seeing his reaction in the morning. I can see his jaw drop in silent protest, his eyebrows furrowing into a small scowl, before he closes his mouth and decides I'm not worth the effort to retort against. I had to laugh, covering my mouth with the back of my hand; clearing my throat, I give him his duties for the day, getting his "ok" sign before he takes off to do his tasks. Once he's set to his mission, I turn to do my own duties when I'm suddenly struck by an odd tangent thought – what did he mean I was smiling for once?

"Hey Ash – what do you mean by just now?"

"What?"

"About me "smiling for once" – what's that suppose to mean?" He looked at me as if the answer was obvious, raising an eyebrow at him to warn him not to belittle me, especially since I'm the one who decides how much or how little I tease him today. He shrugged his shoulders causally, turning back to his task at hand.

"I dunno – usually you're such a grouch in the morning, it's really depressing actually. What – got some revelation with your brother or something this morning?" I'm very grateful right now that he has his back turned to me – I don't think I could admit it the reason why I was smiling today was because I was thinking about teasing him. I tried to clear the lump in my throat, turning away from him so he can't see my face.

"N-no, things are the same as always."

"Well something obviously put you in a good mood." I had to pause a moment before I felt a slight grin come to my face, glancing over my shoulder to see he was staring at me expectantly.

"Sure – I was just thinking about the "aunties" who like to dot on you like a grandchild." The embarrassed blush on his face was worth this – I'm not as quick witted as I used to be, but occasionally I strike a good one; he immediately turned his back to me, reaching a hand to rub the back of his neck.

"Aw fuck – they're not gonna come again today, are they? I get enough affection from my own grandmother."

"Tsk tsk, such language – I suppose I'll have to tell them so that they will wash your mouth out with soap."

"Don't fuc-bloody fool around with me like that! You know I hate it when you tease me like that!" I only smile and shrug, turning back to the task at hand; I hear him huff before marching off to another part of the shop. As I've said – he's a good kid and really – the only person in the world I can stand to work with right now. He doesn't share the same humor as me or my brother did, but he's got his own twisted sense of it, and he's a social-butterfly despite what you see otherwise, so he's the perfect salesman. Perhaps that's why I tease him so much – I don't want him seeing what's underneath the exterior of the shop owner; maybe I'm scared that if sees what I'm really like outside the store, he'll leave. I'm not going to find anyone else I can work with better than him, so in a sense, Ashley's an irreplaceable employee. And it is far too early to be thinking like this – it's depressing even myself; ah well – the shop will be open soon and I'll have my mind occupied for the day.

**-Chapter Two-**


	3. Chapter 3

Next chapter, yay! More to come.

**Warning:** Eventual male x male sexual content; hate? Then shut up and don't read.

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Another day another galleon earned, though I doubt my mood has improved much today; even my own customers are hesitate to approach me. Definitely not a good quota on my part – thank merlin I have Ash; least his social skills are enough to out shine my moodiness any day. As you can expect, my mood is thanks to a certain brother of mine – bloody, fucking bastard – he's always pissed me off in the past, but that morning was really over the line.

As per normal, I went to his flat first thing in the morning, jinxed the lock and let myself in; I think that was when my first irritation flared up – I could hear noises coming from his room. I growled and stormed over to the door, near knocking it down as I kicked it open; I had opened my mouth ready to curse, swear, nag – anything that came to mind but stopped as the words caught in my throat. This wouldn't be the first time I've had to walk in on him while still having a go at it, but at least it was only one woman. Two pairs of dark black eyes gazed surprised in my direction, the shyer of the two girls at least attempting to cover her intimates; her companion on the other hand (which I found out later they were sisters) made no attempt to chastity herself, still draping herself all over him. Ron, of course, had no reaction – nothing, not a grin, not a shock, nothing; I swear it took all of my energy to not just march over and punch him in the face. I didn't stay long, quickly turning my back to them and trekked away from the room; I didn't even realise my hands were shaking.

"FUCK!" without thinking I just swung my wand out and broke something; I didn't bother to look and left the fastest way I could back to my own flat. I almost had a mishap with my landing, near falling off the table, but thankfully got my balance before getting down off the table. You can say that I overreacted, that I was being too sensitive about the situation – bullshit, this is the first he's ever brought **two** home at the same time. I don't know what he does when he goes out at night, and frankly don't care to find out, so maybe this is nothing new, but for the past year that I've been taking care of him (if you can call it that) he has always brought home only one.

And all that happened yesterday and my mood still hasn't improved since then. I didn't visit this morning as my usual routine – I don't think I can see him right now without breaking my promise of never causing him physical or magical harm. With as sigh I slumped down into the chair near the back of the shop – it was my usual corner for moments like these; least the afternoon is ending and we'll be closing shop soon. Ash's already giving a warning time to the remaining customers, telling those who plan to purchase should do so soon. Have I mentioned how much I love this kid? Not in a romantic way or anything like that – he's just so perfect with handling the social courtesy of a shop worker, it sometimes puts me to shame as a shop owner. And he's good with kids, despite his attitude otherwise and that's always a plus in my book. I lean my head back against the wall, closing my eyes as I tried to relax – it's just a couple more hours and I'll be alone again. Normally this thought would've been daunting, but after yesterday's event I – I can't believe I'm gonna say this – I'm welcoming it.

"George – hey, don't fall asleep on me. Honestly, you're the owner for heaven's sake." I feel Ashley tap my shoulder, letting out a silent, but noticeable irritated growl; I look up at him with a stern glare – probably not as harsh as I was hoping it be, seeing as he just frowned at me and huffed. His expression changed to a softer tone, stepping aside slightly as he pointed him thumb behind him; I couldn't help the surprise.

"Your mother is here to see you." He said quietly; mum gives me a warm smile, me trying to give her one back. I tell Ash to return to work, before muttering a small thanks to him; he only nods and easily puts on his good service aura. I turn my eyes to the floor, not daring to look up at her – I can't; I don't want to see it. She may be smiling, acting as if everything will be all right, but I can see it – we all could – the worry, the pain and the sadness in her eyes. Without warning her hands suddenly run through my hair, feeling her fingers tenderly combing through the tangled mess on my head; her hands feel so frail now.

"It's been a while, dear. I wanted to see how you were doing." She explains softly; I look up at her, trying to give her an encouraging smile. I haven't… exactly been in perfect health – least not the kind she was used to; she misses the jokes, the constant carelessness, the confusion of trying to tell who was who. She pulls her hands away from my head, resting them on my shoulders; I look away again.

"I'm fine mum, really." I feel her grip tighten a little.

"I know, I'm glad… How – how is Ron doing?" she asked hesitantly; I don't dare say a word about yesterday morning – I'd be lying if I said there was improvement. I shrug, giving her the typical 'you know – same ol', same ol'' response. She only sighed, before removing her hands from my shoulders and I couldn't help but feel the loss of that warmth – funny how I never really appreciated it until now, and I'm in my goddamn 20s. She begins to talk about other things – about Harry and Ginny, how Charlie recently wrestled with a baby dragon – he came out unscathed thankfully enough; like mum needs any more worry added to her plate. She talked about Bill and Fleur and that they suspect they might be having a child soon; I smile at that – I can only hope I'll be a decent uncle at least.

"I – I got a letter from Hermione recently." She began; I glance up at her, slightly surprised. After that night mum had comforted her, Hermione had made a rather hasty and unexpected decision – she simply packed up and headed to France, saying she was going to continue studying there, in a different environment. But – I knew it was just an excuse to get as far away from Ron as possible; or perhaps maybe she was half expecting him to chase after her. Either way – she's been there for the whole year and Ron never once even thought about going after her.

"Really? How is she doing? Is she planning on returning any time soon?"

"Who knows – she didn't say much of plans to come back to England. It seems, however," mum said it with a sigh and it made me curious. "It sounds like she's met someone there. She says his name is Marcus and it seems like they're getting along quite well."

I couldn't say anything; all right, so maybe part of me had been rooting for them, but with the way things were and Ron's current condition there was no way it would turn out right between them. Mum seemed happy that Hermione was moving on, but at the same time I could see it in her eyes – that slight disappointment. We talked only for a few more minutes after that, before she reached down and gave me a peck on the forehead. I had to whine at that – what mother would give her 22 year old son a kiss. I stood up as she turned to leave before she paused and turned back to me, the look on her face showing she had realised something.

"Maybe this is a bit much to ask of, but – could you check on Percy for me?" I stare at her in slight surprise, unsure of how to react to that properly; the timid look on her face showed she was worried about him. I have to admit, with good reasons – Perce has been looking paler and paler lately and he seems to have lost some weight. He drops in once in a while to show everyone he's alive at least, but most of the time he's holed up in his own flat. My hesitation to answer seemed to give mum the wrong idea, as she turned her head and waved a hand.

"No, never mind – it's all right, you don't have to if it's too much."

"I'll go over tonight after I close shop." I answered without thinking; she looked over her shoulder at me surprised, before a grateful smile came to her face. Even though it was just a spur of the moment response, it was worth it seeing at least some relief in her eyes. She bowed her head, giving a quick goodbye and left through the doors; I sigh and slump back down into my chair. I haven't interacted with Perce since the funeral – I'm almost afraid of the reactions I might get from him, since I am… _his_ twin after all. No one blames him for it since no one could ever have predicted it, but Percy truly believed it was his fault Fre – our brother died. I told him countless times to his face that I don't blame him, that I'm not angry with him – and believe me that took a lot to do; I had wanted to blame, I wanted something – just some kind of relevance for his death… but… even if he is a stuck-up, work-obsessed, snobbish prat it's not like we hated him.

I glanced up at the clock, seeing there was still an hour or so left before closing; I thought it over in my head before coming to a decision, standing up to my feet. I tapped Ashley on the shoulder to get his attention, him giving me the "just a minute" motion; I waited till he was done dealing with the patrons, then he turned to me with a questioning stare – I know he's gonna hate me for this for a while, but I can't sit and wait.

"Sorry, but – can you manage the shop for the last hour by yourself?" His jaw dropped and his eyes went wide.

"What?! Wait – why?"

"You'll do fine, but I just – mum asked me to check on my older brother, and I don't know if I can wait. So – please?" I tried to make that please sound more pleasant, instead of desperate – it was sounding pathetic even to my own ears. He gives me an annoyed frown, before letting out a sigh and turns to tend to the rest of the customers.

"Fine, fine – but you owe me for this."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." I gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder, him just simply shrugging it off as he shooed me out of the shop before he decided to change his mind. I give him one last smile before heading out; I know he's going to be all right. He's handle the shop alone before, so this wouldn't be the first time and I know he's confident in what he's doing – he just doesn't like doing all the work by himself. I laugh to myself, wondering how did I ever end up with a good guy like him in my shop; perhaps I should consider it luck – I feel like sometimes he's the only thing keeping what little sanity I have left. Ah no, that's a bad thought – I can't keep relying on someone like him; I don't want to think about what will happen when the time comes he wants to leave and see the world on his own. Bloody no, I don't want to think about this right now – if I'm going to be seeing Perce, I need to be as level-headed as possible; one of us needs to at least be mentally stable if we're going to be in each other's presence.

**-Chapter Three-**


	4. Chapter 4

More to spoil.

**Warning:** Self-harm; hinted incest; eventual male x male sexual content; hate? Then shut up and don't read.

**Rating:** M

* * *

**-Chapter Four-**

"Oy Perce – you there?" I can't believe I'm standing here, knocking at his door – never in a million years I'd thought this would happen. I don't hear any response from inside, so I knocked again – harder this time.

"It's me, George. Mum asked me to drop by to check on you." Nothing – no answer, no movement; now I'm started to get irritated. I mean – I know we couldn't stand each other at school and at home, but the least he can do is answer the bloody door; even if it's just to tell me to shut up.

"If you don't answer, I'm gonna start yelling out all sorts of embarrassing secrets for your neighbors to hear!" And I mean that too; cruel, I know – but hey, it's me. Since when was I ever known to use polite methods to get my way.

There's no sound at all.

A fear I didn't think I'd ever feel again started swelling in my chest; something in my mind was telling there was something wrong. I couldn't help the slight panic as I remembered what Ron had said to me that one morning – about how Perce is not showing "visible" signs of harm to himself. Shi – calm down, I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation why he's not answering; he's probably just out somewhere…

"Like hell he is!" Where would he go? He hasn't been out of his flat except for the small occasions to let people know he's alive. I start jerking at the handle – of course it's locked, what normal person would leave it unlocked. The panic is getting worse – I can't get in and there is something wrong… bloody hell – I'm a wizard for crying out loud!

Yanking my wand from my pocket, I did a quick jinx and let myself in – well, I hesitated a little before stepping in. The room is dim; it's as if every curtain in the whole damn place has been sealed shut – it's far too quiet. I closed the door behind just out of habit, carefully trending into the flat; it's neat – I mean, of course I was expecting it to be since it's Perce, but it's overly-neat if that was possible.

"Perce? Hey, are you here?" I call out in almost a whisper; I feel like I'm trespassing in something I shouldn't be, even though most of my life had been dedicated to causing all sorts of mischief by that means. I go wondering towards his study room – least I'll assume it is – still calling out to him. This room is even darker than the living room and a tight knot welded in my stomach as to the reasons why; I light my wand – it's more convenient than searching for the light, not all that surprised by the ungodly amount of books that were scattered and stacked around the room. I always knew Perce was a reader, but this is a bit obsessive. I push that aside for now, weaving in and out among the stacks, careful to not step on anything – god knows I'll be lectured for hours if he catches me.

"… Quite the collection, Perce. I guess I know where your monies been going, eh?" Damn it, why I am so nervous and why can't I shake what Ron had said that I'm talking to myself now. I try to calm down, still glancing about the room – it was bigger than I thought it was; that or it's been charmed to be bigger than the actual space was.

"I always knew you were such a book-worm, but really – this is really border-lining obsess…" the words caught in my throat as I caught something in my peripheral view, slowly turning around to shine my wand in that direction nearly dropping it. Percy was laying curled up on his side, his back facing to me; I ran over without second thought, gently shaking his shoulder.

"OY! Perce! Hey – wake up, are you all… right…?" The words trickled into silence as I stared down at him; I can't move – I can't even think straight, seeing the blood dripping from his wrists staining the floor. I can feel my body going numb, my mind whirling with panic and fear – I've never liked him, but it doesn't I don't love him as my brother. My hands are shaking, I know I should being doing something, but I can't seem to command my body to move; I have to help him, but I don't even know if he's…

"It's all right – he's still breathing." I jolt at the voice against my ear, jerking my head to face the oldest of us. Bill took me by the shoulders, gently pulling me away from Perce's unconscious body, before smoothly moving in to tend to the cuts, lifting him up effortlessly in his arms. I could only sit there and watch, waiting for the shock to wear off with the relief that at least Percy was still alive. I follow Bill's back as he takes leave with our brother in his arms, and something just flared up in me.

"You… you're awfully calm, big brother." Bill paused; I haven't called him that since I was five and I knew it would get his attention. He doesn't look at me, simply answering over his shoulder.

"In these kinds of situations, it's necessary to maintain some calmness."

"… or if you're use to these things." I countered; only then did he finally look back at me- his eyes were expressionless. He doesn't say anything more, walking out of the room to I'm assuming Perce's bedroom; I sit and wait for a couple more minutes before I'm sure enough of myself to be able to stand up without falling. A little shaky, but at least I can stand; I walk out of the dark room and trek across to the open door across the way. I leaned against the frame for support, just watching, Bill carefully wrapping up Perce's wrists. In what little light there was I could see faint scars – no doubt from past times. Once tended to and bandaged, Bill laid him back in his bed, gently covering the sheets over him without waking him. Bill hasn't once looked at me.

"How long have you known?" My voice is shaking; he's refusing to answer me, tenderly brushing aside Perce's bangs. I curled my hands into fists, marching straight for him and without thinking grabbed Bill by the collar.

"ANSWER ME! You knew! You knew this all along! How long has this been going on for?!" I near screamed out, but I couldn't help the sudden anger that just rose up in me. I know Ron was the one who tipped me off about it, but it was a different story with him – he's causing the same kind of pain as Perce, but in a different way.

He doesn't answer me, his eyes just staring at me emotionless; part of me was ready to punch Bill in the face, but seeing the scars – how badly he had been messed up by Greyback, I couldn't. A small whimper diverted both our attention, both of us glancing to the frail form lying unconscious. Bill pulled my hand away from his shirt, standing up to his feet as he ushered us out of the room; I let him. If this was going to turn into a brawl, the last thing we want to do is wake Perce up and possibly upset him anymore than he already is. Bill closes the door with silent ease, before turning to stare me eye to eye.

"Well? How long have you known this has been going on?"

"… I only found out three months ago, but –"

"_Three months ago?!_ You've known for that long and haven't told anyone?!" Bill gives me a stern look, which I only returned with a glare.

"I said I _found out_ – he's probably being doing this long before I discovered it; he already had scars under the fresh wounds." I flinched involuntarily – its miracle Perce hasn't killed himself yet if he's been carrying this on for a while now. Bill's expression softened, glancing over his shoulder to the closed door.

"Look – I'm sorry you had to see this; usually I can stop him before it happens – I've watched him enough to know the patterns. But I was swamped with extra work today and wasn't able to get out of it fast enough."

"And that's why mum asked me then? Since you couldn't get out of work?"

"Yeah… listen, don't tell mum or anyone else." He asked calmly; how could I not tell? My own brother is walking a thin line to death and Bill's expecting me to keep quiet about it?

"Mum deserves to know – this is _her_ son."

"Mum's stressed as it is," he lets out an irritated sigh, reaching a hand to rub his forehead. "Look – between you, Ron and dad, she has enough problems as it is."

"Dad? Wait – why dad? What's wrong with him?" I could tell from the look on his face that he said something he shouldn't have. Why did he bring up dad all of sudden – last I knew he was doing fine; well – as fine as anyone could be after unexpected deaths. Bill looked at me with a nervous look, before trying to wave it off.

"Never mind – forget I said anything," "But –!" "I'm taking care of this, all right? I'll handle this on my own. You just worry about yourself first."

I can tell from his tone that he is not going to say anything more and nothing I do will convince him otherwise. He turns to head back into Perce's room, but not before telling me to head home and to leave the situation be. Seeing as I don't have much choice, I nod my head and – for now – obediently let them be; Bill gives a small smile before heading in to the bedroom. I don't know why I lingered as long as I did – perhaps I had been worried for Perce, or perhaps some instinct was telling me something abnormal was going to happen. It turned out to be the latter.

Bill had left the door slightly open, which allowed me to peek in over my shoulder as I headed to the front door; I don't know why he didn't check to see if I had left or perhaps he didn't expect me to loiter about like I did. He sat on the edge of the bed, his hand caressing the side of Perce's face – I didn't think much about the action; Perce seemed to regain consciousness at that moment and almost immediately murmured his name as if he was expecting to see Bill first thing when he awoke. I had shrugged that off – if Bill had been watching him as regularly as he says, course Perce would automatically assume he'd see our brother first every time he woke up. Bill silently shushed him, gently cupping his face with his hand before leaning down to kiss him – I mean, _really_ kiss him.

I'm sure in twenty years time I'll look back and laugh at the expression on my face, but right now I was certain my jaw literally hit the floor at the scene. I quickly turned around, putting a hand over my mouth to keep from making a sound as I speed-walked to the front door, leaning against the surface once I was out of the flat. I couldn't turn over what I had witnessed in my head; I mean – I know Bill's always been spoiling Perce more than he did for us since we were kids, but I had always thought he was just playing favouritism.

I stand there stunned for several minutes, unable to make sense of the image that had embedded itself into my permanent memory. This is a whole new concept to me – I mean, I've heard of these kind of things happening on rare occasions, but I didn't think I'd actually see it. I don't know the reasons for this – and maybe I don't want to know; bloody I feel like m y head's going to explode – Bill's _married_ for crying out loud!

Aw, fuck – forget it. I have enough problems as it is, I don't need to be worrying about this… relationship. I check the time real quick; Ash should be cleaning up the shop by now. I know it's mean, but I need a little distraction so a little tease here and there isn't going to hurt – besides, I had been nice to him all morning and haven't teased him once (granted I was in too fowl of mood to, but still). I head back to the shop the quickest way, near scaring him out of his skin at the unexpected pop up; he shrieked at me for it, but I only laugh – it's somehow calming just seeing his reactions, and I really can't explain why. Ah well – I help with the remaining clean up, dropping in a tease or four to make up for the lack of teasing today. He tries to act all dignified and unaffected, but he does lose it and smacks me on the arm or tries to screw drive the side of my head with his knuckles; I only laugh him giving him a pat on the head which I know drives him crazy. I'm already short as it stands – but Ash is even shorter and he makes such a big deal about it.

I'm still laughing even as I send him out the door for the evening; he gives me a huff as he turns his gaze away. I only smiled, waving a hand as I said my usual parting.

"See you tomorrow, Ash." He pauses and glances over his shoulder at me, before looking away almost in a shy-like manner.

"Yeah – see you tomorrow."

**-Chapter Four-**


End file.
